Planer thicknesses for garage

[deema]

I’ve rebuilt a number of machines, vintage and modern. In my experience, I won’t rebuild modern machines unless they are the high end commercial machines. Why? Well I have found the trade / DIY machines to be very poorly engineered and don’t hold their setup making for disappointment and costly return visits to machines I’ve worked on.
So, Sedgwick, very happy to work on these machines, solid proper engineering that will life generations. Not the best, but extremely good and far better than any IMO of your other suggested machines.

The chain, bearings and sprockets will need changing at some point. Looking at the sprockets I’d want to change them, BUT for DIY the chances are they will out last your lifetime as they are.

We would strip and repaint the machine in the modern blue and white colours and replace anything worn to bring it back to usually better setup than when it came out of the factory. Now, this takes a fair bit of time, some tools, but nothing too elaborate and is within the capability of anyone who has say changed the breaks on a car. You usually don’t lose money buying Sedgwick, you definitely will lose money buying a new trade / DIY machine and IMO struggle to get them working properly. P/Ts must be very stiff / rigid to work properly. So a light machine that’s made to a cost won’t again IMO give the performance you need.

 

[Sideways]

...look up the thread restoration Sideways and I did of an MB PT. We had to machine up jelly bean sprockets to get them to fit properly. I’m guessing the same sprockets used on the MB are used on the PT. You can buy spares from Sedgwick…..expensive!

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/sedgwick-mb-planer-thicknesser-full-refurbishment.136008/

 

[earnest]

@deema, @Sideways would you have any opinion on something like this please: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204768668576
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226100894039
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296318939906

 

[heimlaga]

Eletra Beckum is more like hobby grade though at the upper end of it.
Startrite is unknown to me.

I have rebuilt quite a few machines and honestly it is easier to make something out of a 100 years old industrial machine that was thrown out as "worn out" or "outdated" 40 years ago and has sat in a bush behind a barn overgrown with moss ever since than to make something out of a 15 years old well used hobby machine out of a dry hobby workshop.
Not because those old rusty wrecks are easy to rebuild but because modern hobby machines are built to such a tight price point that there is nothing there to start from.

I am currently rebuilding a pre-war cast iron glue press that was toppled over and then had the counterweight from a forklift dropped on top of it. Repairing such a wreck takes plenty of time and a bit of skill and a good welder and plenty of nickel rods but it is still easier that building a machine out of a pretender.